


Relative

by SailorChibi



Series: Writer's AU [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Writers, Avengers as family, Dating, Domestic Avengers, First Kiss, M/M, Meeting the Family, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Has a Family, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's son, Protective Peter Parker, Slice of Life, Superfamily, Superfamily (Marvel), Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is Peter Parker's dad, bucky and sam love to give steve shit, dad tony stark, steve rogers is in over his head, the gang hangs out on a frequent basis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21783523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: Now that the retreat was over, Steve didn't know what would happen between him and Tony. An invitation to meet Tony's son wasn't really on his radar, but how can he say no?
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Writer's AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1466803
Comments: 40
Kudos: 454





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a commission for a sequel to my original writer's au fic. I love the idea of the team as writers.

Steve stared at himself critically in the mirror for a moment, then shook his head. No. The green sweater was nice, but not at all appropriate for a coffee date. He stripped it off and opted for a blue button-down shirt. Tony had never said as much, but he got a certain look in his eyes whenever Steve showed up wearing blue. Of course, they’d only been on a handful of coffee dates. Maybe he was just imagining it?

“Oh my god, I can hear you overthinking from out here,” Bucky shouted from the living room, and Steve directed a scowl at the door.

“I can’t believe he’s so wound up about this guy,” Sam said. Deliberately or not, his words were easily audible. Steve’s scowl deepened as he grabbed his belt and slipped it through the hoops on his jeans. His friends were the worst sometimes.

“You’ve never seen Steve with a crush before. It’s both sad and hilarious,” Bucky replied, and Steve felt a flicker of trepidation at the clear amusement in Bucky’s voice. “He was a total idiot around Peggy when we were in university. He couldn’t walk the length of a hallway without tripping over his own two feet. Once, he was carrying a plate of spaghetti and –”

“Yes, thank you, Sam doesn’t need to hear that story,” Steve said hastily, walking out to join them as he finished buttoning up his shirt. Peggy had been extraordinarily kind about having a plate of spaghetti dumped into her lap, but Steve would forever be mortified about the whole thing. That incident had been the end of his crush on Peggy Carter, considering that he had turned bright red in embarrassment whenever she was around for a solid six months afterwards. Even now, thinking about it made his ears turn pink.

“That’s where you’re wrong. Sam _definitely_ needs to hear this story,” Sam said, sitting up with interest. Steve mentally groaned as he pictured that story making the rounds in their friend group _again_.

Bucky sniggered. “I’ll tell you later,” he told Sam.

“I really wish you wouldn’t,” Steve muttered, knowing that he was fighting a losing battle even as he spoke. Especially when both Bucky and Sam smirked at him. The two of them were menaces, honestly. 

“So where are you meeting Tony this time?” Sam asked.

“Coffee shop,” Steve said, offering no further details. The last thing he needed was the two of them following him on his date. He hadn’t introduced Tony to them or to Peggy yet, and all three of them were dying of curiosity. Part of him was afraid that they’d load Tony up with so many humiliating stories that Tony would take off running.

“Coffee shop. Isn’t that where you always go?” Bucky said. “Steve, you’re a writer. Put that imagination to work and take your fella somewhere new!”

“Tony _likes_ coffee, thank you very much,” Steve said, moving to put his shoes on. He sometimes wondered if Tony loved coffee more than anything else in the world, except for maybe his son Peter. The sensuous and frankly filthy moans Tony let out when he got a fresh cup of coffee would indicate that was a serious possibility.

Plus, the coffee shop was where Steve felt the most comfortable and he could tell that Tony felt the same way. There was no pressure, the way there would be if they went somewhere fancy. They could just sit and sip at their drinks and chat. Sometimes they talked about their books, sometimes they talked about their friends, sometimes they talked about Peter. Sometimes they just sat and smiled at each other. 

“I see what you mean about the look,” Sam said to Bucky.

“Right? It would be gross if it weren’t so damn cute,” Bucky said, shaking his head. “They’ve been out on like five dates and already he’s in love.”

“I’m not – I’m not… not in love!” Steve stammered, feeling his face redden. 

Sam and Bucky shared a skeptical look.

“I’m not! Tony is – he’s just – he’s great, okay? I’m having fun with him. That’s all.” Steve straightened up from tying his shoes a little too quickly and slammed his hand into the stand he kept beside the door. Said stand promptly fell over with a resounding crash, sending a bowl full of keys and coins flying.

“Oh man, Steve,” Sam said, starting to laugh. 

“That is just sad,” Bucky said.

“Both of you shut up!” Steve squeaked, and fled with the sound of their laughter in his ears. 

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders against the chill; no way was he going back upstairs to grab a coat or a sweatshirt after that embarrassing a little display. Luckily, the coffee shop he and Tony favored was only about a twenty-minute walk from Steve’s apartment. He set a quick pace and made it in seventeen minutes, which was still a full thirty-eight minutes before Tony was due.

But Steve didn’t mind. The walk had helped him to calm down, but now he was chilled to the bone. He went up to the counter and ordered a cup of coffee, then went over to the table he and Tony liked to sit at. The chairs were decent, and it afforded them a view of the sidewalk outside so that they could watch the people going by during the moments when a comfortable silence descended on them.

He gazed out the window as he waited, which was how he saw Tony approaching about ten minutes later. An automatic smile spread across Steve’s face at the sight of him: Tony was wearing fitted jeans, a black jacket that was more than likely tailored, and a bright red scarf patterned with little ‘Iron Man’ helmets – fitting, in Steve’s opinion, for the creator of the popular book series. The scarf had been a gift from Peter, which meant that Tony wore it every time the temperature dropped. 

Tony pushed his way into the coffee shop and lit up when he saw Steve, lifting his hand in a small wave. Steve waved back and held up his cup to indicate that he was good. He watched Tony get in line, heart swelling as he watched Tony order. Moments later, Tony was sinking down into the chair across from him with a breathless little shudder and a smile.

“I am not prepared for this so early. Just two weeks ago we were splashing around a lake,” Tony said.

Steve smiled. “The cold snap is supposed to break soon,” he said. They were having an unseasonably cold bit of weather, but all the news channels were promising it was going to break by Saturday.

“Not soon enough,” Tony said, removing his scarf and setting it aside with an affectionate pat. “So?”

“So what?” Steve asked, pretending that he didn’t know what Tony was talking about. Tony pouted at him, an action that really was unfairly cute on a grown man. 

“Steeeeeve!” he whined, leaning forward. “Come on. Tell me if you’ve started writing your next book!”

Steve let his eyes widen. “Oh, I had no idea that’s what you wanted to know!”

“Yeah right,” Tony said, rolling his eyes. 

“I really didn’t. You could’ve been asking about Bucky’s cat,” Steve said, hiding another smile behind his cup of coffee. Tony was momentarily distracted by the mention of Winter, who was Bucky’s pure white cat and an absolute angel around everyone _except_ Bucky, but quickly pulled himself together.

“Steve Rogers,” he said in what was clearly meant to be a threatening tone. It was, upon later reflection, most likely the tone Tony used with Peter when Peter was misbehaving. Unfortunately for Tony, it had a rather different effect on Steve. He dearly wanted to keep teasing if only so he could provoke _more_ of that particular tone from Tony, but his own excitement made him give in.

“Okay, okay. I started writing,” Steve said.

“Yay!” Tony squealed, clapping his hands. “I’m so proud of you!”

“Thanks. I’m kind of proud of me too,” Steve admitted. After the retreat ended, he’d dithered around looking at all his old notes and figuring out potential new plotlines. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out that he didn’t want to write a sequel to his original work. Rather, he wanted to write something entirely new that better reflected the person that he was now. The last week and a half had been spent feverishly writing an outline and having 3am talks with Bucky about subplots and romantic interests.

“So, tell me all about it,” Tony said eagerly. “And don’t you dare try to tell me you’re keeping it a secret.” He dropped his voice. “I told you all about Spider-Man and Ironheart, even though they’re both major secrets right now.” 

“You did,” Steve confirmed with a nod. And honestly, all the details that Tony had already told him had only made Steve _more_ excited to read it. 

Tony narrowed his eyes. “If you don’t start talking, I’m leaving.”

Steve laughed. “I decided to take a page out of your book – metaphorically speaking, of course. I thought I’d write about a superhero.”

“Really?” Tony looked surprised. 

“Is that a bad thing?” Steve said, hoping he hadn’t accidentally insulted Tony in some way. Some writers could get really possessive about their genres. He had done his best to approach the superhero genre in a new and fresh way, but honestly, he adored Tony’s work and some influence had probably slipped in.

“No! Not at all. I just… didn’t see you going that way.” But Tony smiled as he spoke, like he was pleased. “Who is your character?”

“His name is Isaiah Bradley, alias Captain America,” Steve said. “Bucky keeps teasing me about self inserts, but actually I based the character off my friend Sam.” He idly stirred his coffee. “I had in mind a character who is enhanced by a serum to make them a superhuman, but who fights in arm-to-arm combat more than anything.”

“No fancy armor, in other words,” Tony teased, and Steve shot him a grin.

“So far he has a shield and that’s about it,” he said with a shrug. “That could change as the story continues, of course. He can at least shoot a gun, even if he doesn’t carry one.”

“Captain America. I like it. Very patriotic,” Tony mused, drumming his fingers on the table. “It’s very you.”

“I’m choosing to take that as a compliment,” Steve said, amused.

“It’s definitely a compliment. I can’t wait to read it. I hope you’re not going to make me wait until it comes out,” Tony said.

“Maaaaybe,” Steve said.

“If you let me read it early, I’ll buy you a coffee,” Tony said.

“I’m afraid I already have a coffee.” Steve held up his half-empty cup for emphasis.

“How about…” Tony hesitated briefly, lowering his head and giving Steve a coy look. “How about an invitation to supper instead? At my place? You could meet Peter.”

Steve froze, struggling to hide his surprise. That was one of the last things he had been expecting to hear. Tony had spoken extensively about his personal life during their dates, particularly his son. It was obvious to anyone who took even a moment to listen that Peter Parker-Stark was the absolute apple of his father’s eye. The thought that Tony wanted _him_ to meet Peter already was staggering.

Tony naturally took Steve’s silence the wrong way and blurted out, “You know what, forget I said anything –”

“No! I’d love to!” Steve blurted out. “I was just – I didn’t think – you’d want me to meet him this soon, that’s all.”

“Peter’s insisting on it,” Tony admitted. “He says that I’m a crap judge of character.”

Steve had just taken a gulp of his coffee to wet his dry throat and promptly choked, laughing and coughing at the same time. Tony sighed.

“I know, right? I think he wants to meet you so that he can vet you. Make sure you’re okay for his old man to hang around.” Tony shook his head.

“That’s fine with me. I’d love to meet Peter,” Steve said when he could speak without feeling like he was inhaling coffee. 

“Really?” Tony’s smile was shy.

“Of course. He sounds like a wonderful kid,” Steve said firmly. “I’m free… let’s see… Thursday night.”

“Thursday night works great,” Tony said. “Peter’s going to be thrilled. I honestly think if you hadn’t agreed, he was going to follow me on our next date and ambush us.”

Steve’s mouth quirked as he fought a smile. That definitely sounded like Tony’s kid. “Should I be worried, then?”

Without hesitation, Tony nodded. “Yes. Yes, you should.”

“Great,” Steve said, a little less humorously. Just what had he gotten himself into?


	2. Chapter 2

Thursday night found Steve following Tony’s directions to a very smart building located right in downtown Manhattan. As he approached, he found himself swallowing nervously and wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. He didn’t know why he hadn’t expected something this nice: everything about Tony, from the way he dressed to the car he drove to the sunglasses he wore, spoke of quality. So of course Tony lived in an expensive building too.

And, he reflected, of course it made sense. Tony Stark was the son of the late Howard Stark, who had been in the weapons engineering business. No one was quite sure about the details of what had happened, but, after Howard passed away, the company had not gone to Tony as expected. Rather, Obadiah Stane had stepped up to take control. Stark Industries had become Stane Industries practically overnight, and, from what Steve read in the news, Tony had been left with a sizable inheritance and zero control of what had once been his family’s pride and joy.

Some people probably would’ve floundered after that, but Tony hadn’t. The name Stark remained a household name, but now it was for literature instead of weapons. Tony’s books were incredibly popular. He was one of those few fortunate authors who, with a combination of luck, timing, and spectacular talent, had struck it big enough that pretty much everyone knew who he was and what he wrote. Steve could only dream of being a success like that.

He spent a few minutes loitering out front, working up the courage to go inside. It hadn’t really struck him before that was dating _the_ Tony Stark, but that news made him feel kind of clammy and light-headed now. He was nothing really, compared to Tony. Just a boy from Brooklyn who wrote at night and spent his days alternating between teaching kids’ art and working in a stockroom.

What was he even doing here?

He sighed, weighing his options. Either he left now and destroyed everything he and Tony had been slowly moving towards, or he sucked it up and went inside. Because realistically, if he and Tony kept dating then Steve was going to have to meet Peter – and probably the rest of Tony’s friends, particularly Rhodes and Potts – at some point. Starting off that relationship by canceling for no good reason probably wasn’t a great idea.

“Come on, Rogers, man up,” he whispered to himself. Tony cared enough to invite him here, so the least Steve could do was try. Squaring his shoulders, Steve marched towards the front door.

“Yes?” the doorman said, openly eyeing Steve.

“I’m here to see Tony. Tony Stark,” Steve said, less bothered by the attitude than most people would’ve been. He was pretty used to it, honestly.

“Your name?” the doorman asked.

“Steve Rogers.”

The doorman consulted his tablet. His lips thinned and he gave a put-upon sigh when he found Steve’s name, as though he would have liked nothing better than to kick Steve out and was terribly disappointed to find that he wasn’t going to be able to do that. His eyes flicked up towards Steve and there was a moment during which they just stared at each other before Steve flashed the biggest, smarmiest grin in his arsenal and nodded towards the elevator.

“Top floor,” the doorman said stiffly, moving aside.

“Thank you,” Steve said politely, moving by. He rolled his eyes to himself as soon as the elevator doors slid shut. What a prick. He really hated people who drunk on the tiniest bit of power. He glanced at the buttons and hit the one for the 45th floor. 

As soon as he did, a polished, British voice said, “May I have your name?”

Steve startled. “Uh – Steve? Steve Rogers?” he said, looking up instinctively for cameras.

“Very good. Sir is waiting for you.”

Sir? Steve furrowed his eyebrows, automatically bracing himself as the elevator shifted and began to move. It didn’t take long to reach the top floor, where the doors opened to reveal a hallway that seemed to function as a mud room of sorts. He glanced down at the pile of boots on a mat and figured that meant he was supposed to take his own shoes off; he had just done that and was removing his jacket when the door at the end of the hall opened, bringing a rush of warm air, delightful smells, and a very welcome voice.

“Steve!” Tony exclaimed, sounding genuinely happy. “Sorry, I was preoccupied with trying to make sure that Peter wasn’t climbing his bookcase again.”

“That’s okay. Your, uh, butler showed me the way up,” Steve said.

“Butler?” Tony looked momentarily confused, before he smiled. “Oh, you mean JARVIS. Didn’t I ever tell you about him?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Steve said, half-expecting an older man in a tailored suit to appear behind Tony and offer to take Steve’s drink order.

“JARVIS is an A.I., not a human,” Tony explained, motioning Steve forward. “Much handier and takes up a lot less space.”

“Thank you, Sir,” JARVIS said in what could only be described as a sarcastic tone.

Tony smirked. “Truth hurts, J.” To Steve, he added, “Sorry, I should’ve warned you. JARVIS activates as soon as someone tries to come up here. I can’t always count on the doorman to keep people out, so JARVIS helps to protect Peter when Peter is here by himself. If someone who isn’t allowed up here hits the penthouse button, JARVIS vets them. If need be, he can seal the elevator and call the police.”

“Wow,” Steve said, impressed. “Did you create him?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, looking a little embarrassed. Steve didn’t know why. He’d always know that Tony was intelligent. He had to be to not only write about, but actually understand the science he wrote about in his novels. But he hadn’t known Tony was _this_ smart. It was incredible.

“That’s really amazing,” Steve said. 

“What, no questions about why I went into writing instead of robotics or computer science?” Tony said.

Steve shrugged. “If you’d gone into either of those things instead of writing, you never would’ve come to my retreat. And that means I wouldn’t be able to do this.” He finally padded forward and leaned down, daringly pressing a kiss to Tony’s cheek. They hadn’t kissed yet, and Steve’s heart thudded as his lips touched soft skin. He unwittingly inhaled a good whiff of Tony’s cologne and had to pause for a second before he could bring himself to pull away.

Tony was bright pink, eyes round and lips parted in a small ‘o’. He clearly hadn’t anticipated that. Steve smiled – he found he rather liked the effect he could have on Tony sometimes – and, for the first time, looked around the floor. He’d been afraid he would find some museum-like place, but the living room looked very normal. There was a couch, some chairs, and a large television, but also toys on the floor, what looked like a kid’s sweater carelessly tossed over the couch, and a half-drunk glass of white wine on the coffee table. It was comfortable.

“Daddy!” A short, red-clad figure barrelled into the room and into Tony. Tony snapped out of his stupor and laughed, bending down to pick up the boy. 

“Hi baby. I was just showing Steve in,” Tony said. “Peter, this is Steve Rogers. Steve, this is my son, Peter.”

Peter turned to look at Steve, cocking his head curiously. It was a mannerism that Tony frequently adopted, and Steve had to bite back a smile at the similarity between the two of them. He really was a cute kid, with big brown eyes and brown hair. Anyone who didn’t know Peter’s background could’ve easily mistaken him for Tony’s biological son. Tony probably loved that.

“Hi Peter. It’s nice to meet you,” Steve said.

“Hi,” Peter said. “Did you bring me anything?”

“Uh,” Steve said, suddenly realizing how rude it was to show up to dinner without having brought a gift.

“Peter!” Tony exclaimed. “You don’t ask people that! I’m sorry, Steve. He’s used to Rhodey and Pepper bringing him presents all the time. They have him spoiled rotten.”

“Aunt Pepper says I’m not spoiled. She says I’m just treated well,” Peter said innocently.

Tony snorted. “Aunt Pepper would say that, since she’s the worst culprit!” He set Peter down and playfully ruffled Peter’s hair. “Go wash up, okay? Dinner is just about ready.”

“Okay!” Peter said, running back down the hallway.

“Seriously, Steve, I’m sorry about that,” Tony said.

“It’s no problem. I should’ve brought something,” Steve said awkwardly. “Like… like wine, or something. Shit, I should be apologizing, not you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re here.” Tony gave a shy smile. “Let me go check on dinner. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was about ready. The last thing I need is for it to start burning. Take a seat; I’ll bring you out a glass of wine, okay?”

“Sure, thanks,” Steve said, still feeling like he’d made some major social faux pas. He sank down onto the couch and watched Tony leave the room. Then and there, he vowed that next time he saw Tony, he was going to bring something to make up for his blunder tonight. He’d bring a bottle of wine and flowers for Tony, and something for Peter – chocolate, maybe, or whatever else a little kid might like.

Peter came back into the room and walked over to one of the chairs, hopping up on it. “So, you’re dating my dad,” he said. 

“Uh, yeah. I am?” Steve said. It came out sounding like a question.

“Why?” Peter asked.

“Why… what?”

“Why are you dating my dad?”

Steve blinked. Was that supposed to be a trick question? “Err… because… because he’s smart… and funny… and cute?”

“Not because he’s rich?” Peter said.

“What?” Steve said, shocked.

“Here you go!” Tony announced, walking into the room. He’d evidently missed Peter’s question, because he was all smiles as he handed Steve a glass of wine and gave Peter a glass of what looked like apple juice. Then he returned to the kitchen. Steve took the chance to take a gulp of wine. The crisp taste helped to clear his head a bit.

“Well?” Peter said as soon as Tony was gone.

His first instinct was to be annoyed, but Steve quelled it. Peter didn’t have the attitude of a kid who was deliberately be a little shit. And considering who his father was, maybe he had the right to ask that question. Tony had money. That would be obvious to anyone. There were probably plenty of people who had tried to take advantage of Tony to get at that money. Tony, the sweetheart that he was, trusted easily.

“Your dad and I met when he came to my retreat. At the time, I didn’t even put two and two together and know who he was,” Steve said as kindly as he could. “We bonded over writing. It wasn’t until we met up when we were back in New York that I realized who he was. By that point, I had already been taken in by everything else. Tony is… he’s so _genuine_. He really listens, you know? I like that about him. He helped me a lot with my work. When no one else knew what to say, Tony could tell me exactly what I needed to hear…” He trailed off, realizing that he was rhapsodizing to an eight-year-old.

“He listens to me too,” Peter said. “He helps me a lot with my homework, and he answers any questions I have about science.”

“You like science, huh?” Steve said, even though he already knew that Peter did.

“It’s the best!” Peter chirped enthusiastically, and then he was off. Steve settled back in his chair and sipped at his wine, feeling like he’d passed the first test.


	3. Chapter 3

"So I hear you met Tony's kid last night."

Steve froze and stared at the four grinning faces in front of him. He hadn't actually planned on mentioning that today, but he suddenly realized that wasn't going to be an option. He looked from Natasha to Thor to Bruce to Clint before settling back on Natasha. Out of all of them, it was most likely that she would have been the one that Tony had talked to. Natasha and Tony had a weird bond that Steve didn't fully understand, but which seemed to make both of them very happy. And sure enough, Natasha's smirk widened a little more. That was all the confirmation Steve needed. She was definitely the one who had spilled the beans.

"Well, he's carrying flowers and a bottle of wine. So it either went really well or really poorly," Bruce said in response to Clint's comment.

"I'm guessing the latter. That's an expensive bottle of wine," Thor observed.

"You should've called me for advice," Natasha said, not unkindly.

"Why, so you could laugh at me like Bucky and Sam did?" Steve said, recovering enough to set his gifts down. 

Natasha shrugged. "I still would've helped even after I laughed," she said.

"For your information, the night went just fine," Steve informed them. "I met Peter and we all had dinner together. It was really nice." He couldn't help smiling as he remembered the delicious meal that Tony had cooked. Steve hadn't had such a good homemade meal since the last time he'd visited his mother. And then, after they'd eaten dessert, they had watched a movie together. Peter had fallen asleep curled up against Tony, giving Steve and Tony the opportunity to talk and kiss a little. It was one of the best nights that Steve had had for a long time.

"Oooh, man's in love," Clint stage whispered.

"I am not!" Steve said lamely. Between Sam, Bucky and now these four, he was starting to think that they might be right. It was a little fast, but everything about him and Tony was amazing. 

"Aww, Steve. You're so cute," Bruce said, smiling. 

"Shut up," Steve muttered, sinking down into his chair. He was embarrassed now to have brought the flowers and the wine. Plus, none of them knew that he'd tucked a couple of expensive chocolates in amongst the flowers. His face grew hot as he contemplated tossing both flowers and wine in the trash before Tony got there.

"They're just teasing. I'm really happy for you and Tony. The two of you are good together," Natasha said, laying a hand on Steve's arm. "Plus, Tony is going to love that stuff. He's a total romantic at heart."

"That he is. You can tell by his books," Thor said with a nod. "Romance is something that a lot of male authors, myself included, struggle with, but our friend Tony seems to have a certain gift for writing a believable one."

"Yeah, I suck at romance. So does Natasha," Clint said, making a face.

"I don't suck," Natasha said indignantly. "I'm just... romantically challenged."

"That means you suck," Clint told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Feeling better now that the subject had changed, Steve cleared his throat. "I've never really written a romance before. Is it that hard?"

Bruce shrugged. "I don't have much experience with it either."

"Experience with what?" Tony asked as he walked over. Steve quickly hid the flowers and the wine between him and Thor as Tony sat down in the last free spot between Natasha and Steve. Thor winked at Steve but remained quiet.

"Romance," Clint said. "We were just saying that out of the six of us, you're the only one who doesn't suck."

"Romantically challenged," Natasha repeated.

"Suuuuuuck," Clint drawled, then yelped when she elbowed him.

"Romance is just like anything else. It has to happen organically and between characters that have a spark," Tony said, making himself comfortable. "There's no special trick to it. You just have to remember that you can't _force_ a romance, or it'll be obvious and your readers will pick up on it and react accordingly."

"So then what do you do if two characters you planned to have together don't have a spark?" Bruce said.

"You either change something about one of the characters or you drop it," Tony replied. "If it's a character you've established, and you can't change things now, then they have to go through some event that changes them enough to where a spark _does_ appear." He took off his coat and sunglasses. "Sometimes it really is just easiest to drop it, though."

"Okay, so like, if I wanted to put a romance into one of my stories, how could I do that?" Natasha said.

"Is this part of the whole, they want you to include more male characters?" Thor asked her.

Natasha sighed and nodded. "They feel it would add depth to my stories," she said sourly.

"Consider that you don't have to have men to add in a relationship," Steve said.

She started to open her mouth and then paused, eyes rounding as she let out a soft, "Oh."

"Now you've done it," Thor said. "Natasha's publisher is gonna hate you."

"Well, he's not wrong," Bruce said. "They can't be mad if she's doing what they want."

"Frankly it's the perfect way to be spiteful. Add a couple more guy characters but keep the focus on women where you want it," Tony added.

"Shh. Don't talk to me. I have to make notes," Natasha said, grabbing her pad of paper and a pen. She bent her head and began scribbling feverishly. She, Bruce and Steve all favored using paper and pen for their notes, whereas Clint, Tony and Thor used their phones.

"Well, that was an easy enough problem to solve," Tony said, eyes bright with laughter as he turned to Steve. "Hi."

"Hi," Steve said, smiling back as he leaned forward to quickly peck Tony on the mouth. He loved that he could do that now and hoped that no one would make a big deal of it. When he pulled back and glanced around, Clint was reading what Natasha was writing and Bruce and Thor were talking about potential romances in Thor's book. 

"Thanks again for coming over last night. Peter absolutely loved having you there," Tony told him.

"It was really nice to meet him. He seems like an awesome kid," Steve said. "I'd love to see him again."

"That's good, cause I've already been asked when you can come over for supper again," Tony replied.

"Anytime," Steve said instantly, then realized that probably sounded too eager and flushed. "Uh - I mean, whenever is good for you."

"Anytime sounds good," Tony said, smile softening. "Maybe next Wednesday?"

"Sure," Steve said. He had no idea what his calendar was like, but he'd move whatever he had to if it meant that Tony would keep smiling at him like that. And he hadn't been lying: Peter really was a cool little kid. Steve was looking forward to getting to know the kid better.

“Great. I thought I’d grill us a couple of steaks and make a pie for dessert,” Tony said. “Do you like pie?”

“I love it,” Steve replied. “All kinds. Chocolate, peanut butter, lemon meringue, cherry, apple, coconut cream, key lime…” He shrugged. “They’re all good.”

“Are you like a pie connoisseur?” Tony asked, eyes alight with amusement. 

“Maybe. You have no idea what I do in my spare time,” Steve said.

“That’s a lie. I know exactly what you do in your spare time. You draw, you write, and you get made fun of by Bucky and Sam,” Tony said.

Steve groaned and hung his head. “Yeah, I guess I can’t argue with that.”

“It’s okay,” Tony said, patting Steve’s shoulder. “I would like to meet them, though.”

“Ooh, me too!” Natasha said, and both Tony and Steve jumped. Steve recovered first, shaking his head and pointing a finger at her.

“No. Nope. You are forbidden from meeting Sam or Bucky.”

“What? Why?” Natasha said, pasting on a pout.

“Because the three of you will team up and I will never have a moment’s peace,” Steve replied, inwardly shuddering at the very idea. Natasha, Sam and Bucky would get along a little _too_ well.

“Actually, I can’t begrudge him that,” Tony said after a moment.

“Me either,” Clint chimed in. “Natasha can be brutal on her own, never mind when she’s got partners. Ow!” He winced as she elbowed him again.

“But you’ll let me meet them, right?” Tony asked, batting his eyes at Steve. It was an unfairly attractive look, and Steve found himself speechless.

Bruce snickered. “I’d say that’s a yes.”

“So would I, based on this.” Thor reached down and picked up the flowers and the wine. Steve squeaked.

“Um, I’m flattered Thor, but I’m dating Steve,” Tony said, blinking in bafflement.

“They’re _from_ Steve. He just wussed out on giving them to you,” Natasha said, her lips curling into a wicked smirk. Steve glared at her, which only caused her smirk to widen. 

“Steve…” Tony smiled. “I told you that you didn’t need to bring me anything. You didn’t have to do this.” He picked up the bouquet of flowers and gasped delightedly. “You even put chocolate in amongst the flowers!”

“Wow Steve, you’re making the rest of us look bad,” Clint said.

“In all fairness, he doesn’t have to try hard to do that,” Bruce muttered.

Steve decided to ignore the rest of them and focused on Tony. “I know you said I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. You deserve it.”

“Awwww,” Clint said.

“That’s so sweet!” Thor chimed in.

“I think my heart just fluttered,” Natasha said.

“You should be writing this done. Your readers will eat it up,” Bruce told her.

“Damn, you’re right. This shit will sell itself!” Natasha exclaimed, grabbing her pad of paper.

“I hate all of you,” Steve lamented as Tony laughed.

“Come on, guys, don’t be so mean to Steve,” Tony said, scooting closer and laying his head on Steve’s shoulder.

“Yeah, guys. Steve’s delicate heart can’t take it,” Clint teased.

“Natasha, would you please?” Steve said.

“Ow!” Clint wailed as Natasha elbowed him for a third time. “This is abuse! Bruce, change places with me.”

“Nope,” Bruce said. “However, if you promise to stop yelling in my ear, I’ll buy you a cookie.”

Clint snapped his mouth shut and mimed zipping his lips, locking it, and throwing away the key. Bruce rolled his eyes as he stood up to go to the counter; Clint scurried to his feet to follow, and so did Natasha and Thor. Steve heard Bruce complaining about having only promised to buy _one_ cookie, but had the feeling that Bruce was going to end up buying more.

“Thanks a lot for the flowers, the chocolate and the wine. Consider yourself covered for the next couple of meals,” Tony said.

“The next couple?” Steve repeated hopefully, and Tony smiled again.

“Well, like I said, Peter really enjoyed having you over. I think I told you that I haven’t really introduced anyone else to him… it never got that far.” Tony looked at the flowers. “So I was really happy with how last night went. I thought it was a good first step. Really good.”

“Me too. Maybe some night you can come for supper at my place and meet Sam and Bucky,” Steve said.

Tony grinned. “Really?”

“Yeah, but if you show up with Natasha in tow, I’m not letting you in.”

Tony laughed again. “Steve, honey, it’s going to happen eventually.”

“The longer I can keep them apart, the better,” Steve said determinedly.

“Okay,” Tony said, shaking his head in amusement. “If I’m meeting your friends, you should get to meet mine too. You, me, Bucky, Sam, Rhodey and Pepper should all go out for supper. Then while they’re all occupied with making fun of us, we can sneak away and make out.”

“I am very interested in this idea,” Steve told him. “Please continue.”

“I’ll do you one better,” Tony breathed, leaning closer. “How about a hands-on experiment?”

They were going to be soundly mocked when their friends got back from the counter, but Steve didn’t care. “Yes please,” he said, leaning in the rest of the way. Their lips met and the rest of the café faded away.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](https://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


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